Tom Brennan - A CALL TO ARMS - VOLUME 3: TYLER PILL

A CALL TO ARMS – VOLUME 3 – TYLER PILL by Tom Brennan

Last week, in volume 1, I wrote about Logan Verrett, who shows all signs of being major league ready.  And Matt Bowman, who is flying through the system.

Today, in this tour of the Mets arms factory, we move on to Tyler Pill, our 2011 fourth round draftee out of Cal Fullerton. 

Before getting into the pitcher’s nonessentials - you know, ERA, wins and losses, and the like, let's get right down to it, folks.  This pitching dude can hit!  In a league where the DH is used almost exclusively, pitchers get few chances with the stick in their hands. Tyler made the most of those rare opportunities.

He went 8 for 19 with not a single strikeout. Not one. With 2 doubles and a homer, to boot.  In a baseball generation where we look at possible trade bats and it seems so many strike out a ton.  I watched a few Youtube shots, and he’s got a sweet lefty swing and quick bat.

So, is his prowess with the bat a fluke?  Nope.  His 2014 bat work is no accident - he had a slash of approx. .340/.420/.490 in close to 400 plate appearances in his final two years in college, while alternating between pitching and position play.  Picture those situations where the bench is spent and the manager needs a pinch hitter, or an extra inning game where a versatile pitcher could play outfield for a few innings. A more useful guy to have around than your typical pitcher who hits like your grandmother (nah, she hit better than most of those pitcher types).

On a more serious note, pitching-wise, Tyler has done well.  He is not a Thor-like flame thrower, apparently topping out in the low 90s, but Tyler comes off a fine 2014 season in Binghamton where he DID NOT LOSE ANY OF HIS LAST 19 STARTS.  NINETEEN, FOLKS.  Somebody does that in Queens, he’d get a tickertape parade.  He also features a solid change and breaking ball.

That sort of a run during a season is a classic reason I do not like to just look at full season stats, because he started the 2014 season losing his first 5 starts - which I will speculate is due largely to his having missed all but April in 2013 with an injury.  So after his 5^th start, he went 10-0 including the playoffs, ERA in the low 3’s, and a strikeout an inning with excellent control.  Can’t ask for much more than that.

In his career to date, he is 20-11, 3.53, 1.22 WHIP, a very solid 256 Ks in 270 innings, and a commendably low level of homers surrendered (just 17 so far in his career).

So, compared to Logan Verrett (drafted one round earlier than Tyler), Tyler is cut from similar cloth, but Logan has been essentially injury free, while Tyler missed most of 2013, so Tyler is on a very similar path, but trailing Verrett (and Bowman).

Is he big league ready?  Perhaps not, due to his largely lost 2013 season, but a season in AAA and my take is he certainly will be. 

So once he is ready, what will he be?  I’d say a starter very similar to Dillon Gee – or a 7^th inning pen guy – and a great pinch hitter.

Of course, he faces a hugely crowded pitching rotation.  I listed Logan Verrett the other day as currently the Mets’ 10th option for their 5 man rotation.  I’d say that makes Tyler #11.  Or more likely 12^th, slotting in behind Matt Bowman.

So maybe Tyler gets traded to a team that needs pitching and could use a solid 4-5 starter soon.  And preferably in the NL so he can utilize the bat and hit.  A superior pitcher’s bat like his could win a team an extra game or perhaps two over the course of a season.

In another time, back when the Mets had crappy farm systems, he’d be a top 10 prospect and perhaps its top minor league pitching prospect.  Not these days, but I expect Tyler to have a decent big league career.

What say you, dear reader?